Page 10 of Another Man’s Treasure

Saint smiles without looking at the paper. “So we’re moving forward, then? You’ll need to include your mate in some of the upcoming conversations, I assume.”

I grin. Confidence is the key to getting this deal across the line. “Oz stays busy, and he trusts me to get this done, but when he’s needed, I’ll make sure he’s there.”

“Excellent,” Saint says, lifting his wine glass toward me. “Shall we toast?”

Willa’s gonna kill me when I call her to fill her in on this turn of events.

Yet as I clink my whiskey glass to Ashbourne’s, dread fills me.

How the hells am I going to make this happen?

* * *

“Wills, you’re gonna murder me,” I say when my baby sister picks up the communication disk.

Her hologram rises tall, and she scowls, mouth pursed into a thin line. Pointed ears twitch, a sure sign I have her concerned with that opening statement.

“Wilder Orpheus, what do you mean? We’re weeks from completing this sale, and you’re pulling shit now? What happened?”

I let out a wry chuckle. “Wasn’t it just yesterday you were asking if I beat a guy up for calling me a motherfucker?”

She doesn’t laugh. “For real, Wild, what’s up? I can read your emotions. You’re actually worried.”

Sighing, I run my hands through my hair, pulling the blond strands as I blow out a breath in frustration. “The Sandovals’ representative laid a couple changes on me tonight, and one of ‘em’s big.”

Her eyes narrow and flash as she gets into cutthroat lawyer mode. “Now?! How big?”

“Yeah.” I lean forward onto my forearms, staring at her. “They want me to be mated. Seems Mister and Missus Sandoval feel the key to their success was their partnership, and if I’m not mated, maybe I can’t handle it. Don’t ask me why this never came up before.”

Willa chuckles and shrugs. “Pfft. It’ll be easy enough to hire you a temporary boyfriend or whatever they want.”

I shake my head and fill her in on the gargoyle complication. I shoulda known that male was going to be trouble the moment I laid eyes on him. Far too pretty for his own good and now draggin’ me into nonsense I’ve literally got no interest in.

Willa cocks her head to the side. “This is the same guy who called you a motherfucker, right? The crazy table dude?”

“Yep.”

She grins and claps her hands together. “I’m gettin’ an idea, Wild.”

I’m guessin’ she’s probably got the same stupid idea in her pretty head that I had in mine, but I can think of a million reasons why it won’t work. I thought about it a lot on the way home, and there’s just too many ways it could fall apart.

“Willa Alder Lane, it won’t work,” I mutter, but she starts hopping up and down, smiling victoriously.

“Here’s what you’re gonna do, Wild. You’re gonna find that guy, tell him he owes you for putting you in an awkward position, and ask him to fake-date you for a couple weeks.”

I snort. “Why would he? It was literally sixty seconds of conversation. Awkward, yeah, but not super awkward.”

She shrugs. “Offer him money, then.”

I snort. “To date me?”

She shakes her head. “To appear on some dates with you, do whatever in public so you look like you’re together. It’ll be a little weird, and it’ll be a charade, but why not? Make sure he benefits, Wild. Why would he say no?”

My mouth drops open. Silly as it is, the table war didn’t exactly put us on great footing for starting this. I’d so much rather ask a friend, but I can’t very well do that with Saint Ashbourne already thinking Oz is my mate.

“This is a great idea, Wilder,” she repeats. “There’s literally no downside except having to hang out with this guy and probably pay him. Just think of the long term, think of the ranch and those gorgeous bulls. Everything you want is within reach if you do this, and as your lawyer and sister, I am fully in support of it. I’ll even come out to help make everything seem more real.” She beams at me. “I was comin’ anyhow, but this gives me a reason to join you a little quicker.”

Shit, if she comes out, we could fake it a little bit better because she can pretend to know Oz and me as a couple.